With not far to travel today we decided to get school done at our roadside camp. Always best getting it out of the way early. Charlotte has hit a real roadblock with school and is just refusing to do anything. I’d just love to give up too, but of course we’ll all suffer the consequences later. Teachers are right up there on my list of things I’ve missed from home life.
There was a great little shop along the way at the Dodnun Community, mandarin, cucumber and a lettuce, cool and fresh.
Mt Elizabeth was great. Very quiet, new facilities and water. Unfortunately the castor sugar lid had not been closed so with a full day on corrugation the day before we had a huge mess to clean up. Fine powdered sugar through everything, ugh! The kids enjoyed the space for a run around after a long day in the car and while Ken and I would have liked an early to bed night it’s hard to get them to sleep when they have been sitting all day and are still full of energy.
Mt Elizabeth has a couple of beautiful gorges on the property and a very rocky but fun 4WD track to get out to them. One, the water was low and had gone stagnant so no swimming, so we opted for the larger and stunning Wannumurru Gorge. The drive was good fun (unless you’re in the back seat) and with just a 1km walk in it was very pleasant.
It is no longer running but swimming was still ok. It would be totally amazing to see during the wet with a number of tiers to the falls but it was still very beautiful and with only 4 other people it felt like we had it all to ourselves. A couple of ladders have been installed to help you get down to the water. It’s adventurous, fun and pretty easy. The water a beautiful teal green and of course surrounded by the Kimberley red rock.
There is rock art here at the gorge just a short walk away. Ken went for an explore while the girls made short work of the snacks/picnic I’d prepared. The art Ken found was just stunning. Probably the best we have seen here in the Kimberley, very strong and well preserved Wandjina images. We had a wonderful time here, the temperature was very pleasant and the place has a sense of peacefulness. As has often happened now, Lulu fell asleep on the walk back to the car.
With a free 8kg washing machine and warm weather, getting a few large loads of washing done has been brilliant. It’s an endless job keeping up with the washing and the red dirt and dust, everything is constantly looking grubby. I’m starting to feel over all the red, rocks and dirt. There are still a number of sites and gorges to visit on the Gibb but Ken and I are both feeling we’ve had a great experience so far and are ready for more beach time and hanging out for some fresh food. So we’ve decided to just call it quits on the Gibb, have one more long driving day tomorrow and get to Derby.
We nearly make it to Derby. We’re off the dirt and have aired up the tyres but pull into Birdwood Downs hoping to squeeze in a bit more horse riding for the girls. Turns out they no longer do the riding and are going to sell the horses. What a shame but makes it an easy decision now to push on again and get to Broome tomorrow. It’s an interesting place to stay, appears to have had a glorious past and is transitioning into something new. Hopefully it finds the right niche again as it has some wonderful features.
With that we farewell the Gibb River Road. All up it’s been a magical 3 weeks and as always there is more to see, but that’s for next time now.